UAE minister of industry and advanced technology to co-chair virtual GMIS event

Dr Sultan Al Jaber will deliver opening day keynote at the summit scheduled to take place on September 4 and 5

Dr Sultan Al Jaber on Sunday chaired the first meeting of the new board of the Emirates Development Bank’s. Courtesy: Adnoc

The UAE's minister of industry and advanced technology Dr Sultan Al Jaber will co-chair the Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit (GMIS) alongside the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation's director-general Li Yong.

A virtual edition of the summit is scheduled to take place on September 4 and 5 with the participation of close to 100 global leaders, according to a GMIS statement on Monday.

Dr Al Jaber, who is also group chief executive of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, is scheduled to deliver a keynote address on the first day of the virtual summit.

“In just a short period of time, the Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit has evolved to play an important role in advancing a transformational global agenda that is needed now more than ever. I look forward to working with Li Yong, the director-general of Unido, to help achieve consensus among stakeholders on how the manufacturing community can drive inclusive and sustainable industrial development,” Dr Al Jaber said.

“In particular, I look forward to exploring opportunities for greater collaboration between government, industry and technology sectors that can enhance global resilience, while accelerating economic growth and prosperity.”

GMIS is a joint initiative between the UAE government and Unido. It was launched to build bridges between manufacturers, governments, NGOs, technologists and investors to shape the future of the manufacturing sector. The first two editions were held in Abu Dhabi in March 2017 and in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg in July 2019, with each welcoming more than 3,000 delegates from over 40 countries.

The third edition of the summit was initially due to take place in April 2020 alongside the Hannover Messe 2020 trade fair, but was postponed and is now being held virtually as a safety measure during the coronavirus pandemic.

"Unido has cooperated extensively with the Government of the United Arab Emirates through GMIS and several other initiatives, especially the Abu Dhabi Declaration on advanced technology, and we look forward to enhancing this relationship in the years to come," said Mr Li.

Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies in manufacturing can only be shaped to be inclusive and sustainable "through building strong multi-stakeholder partnerships with representatives of national governments, multilateral organisations, the private sector, the research community, and civil society", he added.

“This is why we co-convene GMIS: to leverage our combined knowledge, insights and resources to fuel inclusive and sustainable industrial development. With initiatives such as GMIS we hope to convert theory and best practices into action on the ground.”